Wrench.



PATBNTED JAN. 30, 1906.

M. M. ROWLAND,

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.1. 1904 2 SHEBTS-BHEET 1.

(ilkmzmgg witmaaom 7w 1 6% w" No. 811,224.. PATENTED JAN. 30, 1906.

M. M. ROWLAND. WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 1906.

Application filed November 1 1904. Serial No. 230,902.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I. MATTHEW M. HOWLAND,

a resident of the city of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Thisinvention relates to wrenches, and has for its object to provide a wrench that may be operated as a pair of pliers to open and close its jaws by means of handles.

A further object of the invention is that the jaws of said wrench will i be locked automatically and in any desired positionagainst a further opening movement when it has been applied to an object and strain has been brought to bear upon it.

The advantages of a wrench of this character are obvious. First, it serves the double purpose of a pair of pliers and also of a wrencl1,having the quick-acting adjustment of the former and the power obtained by leverage of the latter. The jaws of the wrench may be opened instantly to their greatest extent and as quickly closed and adjusted to the nut or other object to which it is to be applied. Second, the automatic locking device is indispensable to its practicability, as the wrench must be locked against further opening as soon as the strain is applied. This locking device makes the grip of the hand unnecessary for the purpose of keeping the wrench closed when in use. The arrangement of the handles enables the wrench to be operated by the use of one hand only. By the application of the automatic locking device to this wrench it is made possible and practical to use the plier-action handles to open and close its jaws.

With these and other objects; in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the wrench in the closed position. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the wrench ,partly in section, showing the automatic locking device and the handles drawn apart and the jaws in the open position. Fig. 3 is a detail bottom plan view of the adjusting-handle Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the wrench with the adjusting-handle removed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the fixed handle which holds the fixed jaw atone end. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the sliding jaw and its supportingbar. Fig. 7 shows the toothed locking-nut.

Referring to the drawings, at 1 is the fixed handle, which is nicely curved to fit the hand and may be drop-forged or made in any suitable way with one of the wrench-jaws 2 preferably made integral with it and fixed to its outer end. Between the jaw and the handle, that are connected by the shank 9, are two upwardly-projecting ears 3 3, with a narrow space or opening at 4 between them for the reception of the sliding bar 5. A hole is also broached out or otherwise formed at 7 through the jaw to receive this sliding bar.

To the outer end of said sliding bar 5 is fixed the adjustable jaw 6. The bar extends through the opening 7 in the head and back between the ears 3 3 and is held to slide endwise therein. On the lower edge of this bar at 12 are formed rearwardly-inclined teeth or teeth inclined away from the jaws, which teeth are for the purpose of engaging correspondingly-shaped teeth in the locking-block 13 when strain is applied to the wrench to prevent said bar from sliding forward, and thereby opening the jaws. At is a stoppin that extends through the upper edge of these ears 3 3, leaving sufiicient room or play for the toothed end of the bar to rise out of engagement with the said teeth in the lockblock when the jaws are being opened.

The locking-block is arranged to be insert ed into a suitable recess at 14 in the fixed handle made to receive it. At 15 is the adjusting-handle, pivoted at 19 to the upper end of the adjustable jaw 6, and by the movement of this handle the opening betweenthe jaws is regulated. This handle is preferably made of sheet metal having two sides and a top or back. It is nicely curved to form a comfortable grip for the hand and at the same time to leave a space between it and the fixed handle at 20 for the admission of a finger to assist in drawing said handles apart. At about the middle portion of said adjustable handle the sides extend farther downward, forming cars 16 16, said ears having slots at 17 in them inclined forward or toward the jaws, said slots being for the reception of the guiding-pin 18. This pin extends through the upper edge of the ears 3 3 for the purpose of engaging said inclined slot to draw said handle and. the jaw it engages either forward or back as said handle is raised or lowered with relation to the fixed handle. The same result would be obtained if the slots werein the ears 3 3 and the pin in the adjustable handle.

The operation of the device may be further described as follows: hen it is desired to open the jaws of the wrench, the pivoted handle is raised from the fixed handle, and as the sides of the inclined slot 17 engage the guide-pin 18 said handleand the jaw to which it is pivoted are necessarily carried forward the amount of the inclination of the slot, which inclination is regulated to obtain the maximum amount of throw with the minimum amount of resistance, the opening motion being limited by the length of the slot. When the handle is carried up, the adjustable jaw is pressed downward, which naturally raises the teeth 12 on the inner end of the sliding bar 5 out of engagement with those in the block 13, allowing said'bar to freely slide forward to open the jaws. The jaws may then be placed loosely upon the work to be operated upon, and by tightening the grip of the hand upon the handles the said jaws are made to grip said object tightly. The act of gripping the work naturally throws the teeth of the bar downward into engagement with those of the block, and the jaws of the wrench thus become automatically locked against an outward movement. Any strain or pressure applied to the wrench in acting upon the work to twist or turn it has the natural tendency to press the locking-teeth more firmly together, thereby positively obviating any possibility of the jaws being further opened by any pressure which may be exerted between them. When the operating-handle is raised to open the jaws of the wrench, the movable jaw is pressed downward, naturally raising the locking-teeth out of contact, allowing a free outward movement of the bar; but when it is desired to close the wrench the rearward inclination of the teeth allows the said bar to freely slide back to the desired position.

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described nor to the various details thereof, as the same may be modified or rearranged in various particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, one practical embodiment of which has been herein illustrated and described without attempting to show all of the various forms and modifications in which my invention might be embodied.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, a movable jaw, afixed jaw, an operating-handle pivoted on one of said jaws, and means whereby said movable jaw is automatically locked against a further opening movement only when a strain is applied to the jaws.

2. In a wrench, a fixed jaw, a fixed handle, a longitudinally-movable jaw adjustably supported from said fixed jaw and handle, means whereby said jaws may be opened to their fullest extent by one movement of the operating-handle, and means for automatically locking the said jaws.

3. In a wrench, a fixed jaw, a fixed handle, a movable jaw adjustabl y supported from said fixed jaw, an operating-handle pivoted to one of said jaws, means whereby said jaws may be opened to their fullest extent by one movement of said handle, and means for automatically locking the same, the arrangement being such that said jaws may be closed without actuating the locking device.

1. In a wrench, a fixed jaw and handle, a movable jaw secured to a movable member, said member being adjustably held in said fixed jaw and handle, an adj usting-handle pivoted to one of said jaws, means whereby said jaws may be opened to their fullest extent by one movement of said handle and means for automatically locking said jaws only when a strain is applied to the same.

5. In a wrench, a jaw and handle fixed together, a, longitudinally-movable bar supported from said fixed jaw and handle, a movable jaw secured to said movable bar, an adjusting-handle pivoted to the outer jaws, and means for automatically locking said jaws.

6. In a wrench, a fixed jaw and handle, a longitudinally-movable bar supported from said fixed jaw and handle, a movable jaw secured to said movable bar, an adjusting-ham dle pivoted to one of said jaws, and means on said movable bar arranged to automatically engage said fixed members to lock the jaws only when a strain is applied to said jaws.

7 In a device of the character described, a jaw and handle fixed together, longitudinallymovable members including one jaw supported from said fixed members, means in said movable members arranged to automatically engage means in said fixed members to lock the jaws, and an adjusting-handle for moving one of the jaws to open it to its fullest extent with but one movement of the said handle.

8. In a wrench, a fixed jaw, a fixed handle, an operating-handle, a longitudinally-movable jaw adjustably supported from said fixed jaw and handle, means whereby said jaws may be completely opened by one movement of said operating-handle and means for automatically locking the said jaws, said operating-handle acting independently of the locking means.

9. In a wrench, a fixed jaw and handle, a movable jaw secured to a movable member, said member being adjustably held in said fixed jaw and handle, an adjusting-handle, and means for automatically locking said jaws.

10. In a wrench, a jaw and handle fixed to pivoted to one of said jaws, and means in said bar for automatically locking said jaws.

11. In a device of the character described, a jaw and handle fixed together, a movable jaw secured to a longitudinally-movable bar, said bar being held to slide inisaid fixed members, teeth on said bar to engage corresponding teeth in said fixed members to lock the said jaws from opening, and an adjusting-handle for setting the jaws.

12. In a device of the character described, a jaw and handle fixed together, a movable jaw secured to a longitudinally-movable bar, said bar being held to slide in said fixed members, teeth on said bar to engage corresponding teeth in said fixed members to lock the said jaws from opening, an adjustable handle for setting the jaws, and means in said handle by which the said movable jaw may be opened and closed by the movement of said handle.

13. In a wrench, a jaw and handle fixed together, a movable jaw secured to a longitudinally-movable bar, said bar being held to slide in said fixed members, an adjusting-handle pivoted to one of said jaws, means including a pin working in a slot by which the said movable jaw may be opened and closed by the movement of said handle, and means in said bar for automatically locking said jaws.

14. In a device of the character described, a jaw and handle fixed together, a movable jaw secured to a longitudinally-movable bar, said bar being held to slide in said fixed members, teeth on said bar arranged to automatically engage corresponding teeth in said fixed members to lock the said jaws from opening, an adjusting-handle pivoted to one of said jaws, and means including a pin working in a slot by which the said movable jaw may be opened and closed by the movement of said handle.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of October, A. D. 1904:.

MATTHEW M. HOW LAND.

In presence of HOWARD E. BARLOW, E. I. OGDEN. 

